Cowell to replace Whitmarsh as Aston Martin Group CEO

Former managing director of Mercedes High Performance Powertrains (HPP) Andy Cowell will become the new Aston Martin Group CEO later this year, taking over from Martin Whitmarsh.

Cowell was viewed as instrumental in ensuring Mercedes had the dominant power unit when the V6 turbo hybrids were introduced in 2014, kicking off a run of seven straight drivers’ championships and eight consecutive constructors’ titles. Since his departure in 2020, Cowell has been linked with numerous positions at other Formula 1 teams and has now been confirmed as a significant hire at Aston Martin.

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“I am thrilled to join Lawrence [Stroll]’s exciting project and look forward to working with the talented group of people that has been assembled,” Cowell said. “F1 has always been my competitive passion, and I am joining Aston Martin Aramco at an exciting time with the imminent completion of the AMR Technology Campus and our transition in 2026 to a full works team with our strategic partners Honda and Aramco.”

Whitmarsh had been Group CEO at Aston Martin since early 2022, but will hand over to Cowell when he joins the team on 1 October, with his replacement also reporting into executive chairman Lawrence Stroll.

“I would like to thank Martin who has been instrumental in our growth phase as a business,” Stroll said. “In the last three years, he has developed the team and has helped us achieve some significant milestones, including fostering our relationship with Honda and delivering our state-of-the-art AMR Technology Campus at Silverstone.

“I am delighted to welcome Andy to our team at a crucial time. Together with our works partnership with Honda, the commitment from our title partner Aramco and Andy’s leadership we are on track to become a world championship winning team. Andy has my full backing and will have every resource available to win.”

Ahead of his departure, Whitmarsh says he’ll be leaving with Aston Martin well-placed to become a championship challenging team in future.

“I have known Andy for many years and brought him to Mercedes HPP in 2004 where he became managing director between 2013 and 2020, achieving huge success in the business and sport,” Whitmarsh said. “He will be an incredible asset to Aston Martin Aramco and will make a significant contribution to the execution of our strategy going forward.

“Andy’s arrival in October and the completion of the AMR Technology Campus will allow me to step away and focus on other projects in my life, knowing that the foundations have been established with an impressive team, inspiring vision and advanced facilities to achieve success in F1.”